Road pavement joint cleaning and finishing tool



E. M. CRUZ Feb. 28, 1933.

, ROAD PAVEMENT JOINT CLEANlNG AND FINISHING TOOL Filed Dec. 26 1950 ATTORNEY i 60 'o Thek plates maybe Patented Feb. Y 2a, 1933 EDWARD M; lcnUz, oFnLPInEjcALIFoRNIA ROADPAVEMENTJOINT cLnAnING :nNn rrnrsnme, 'rootl -f application med neembr'ae, 1930., serkiainafsoet'as, i

My invention relatesy to finishing tools n ticul'arly adapted for usev on i concrete* pave'- `ments, and the objects ofniy invention are First, to provide a tool by-means of which 5 the contiguous edges of adjacent paving; sections mayu be simultaneouslyrounded oii' Second, to provide a tool of this character whichgremoves concrete Afrom .the up er surfaceofthefejxpansion strips'pla'ced li i adjacent sections, and insures a,clear'-gap..between such sections; if

Third, to provide a device of this character whichis self-adjusting;l t L YFo`urth,-tooprovide adevlce of this character f lr for'alining thenmarginal,portionsof adjacenty pavement sections; and o n Fifth, to lprovide af device yof thisffch'aracter which, is` easily handled," simple in; operation, rugged in c` order.

- 'YVith these and other objects in view as will l appear o hereinafter, v my invention consists of certain novelfeatures ofconstructiomcombi- 1 1F25V nation and arrangementof parts and portions as: vwill be hereinafter described in detailand particularly set fo'rthin 'the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the charactersof reference y 3o thereon, `which form apart oftliisz applica-y j tion, in which:

`Figure 1 isa perspectiveview of mynovel l to'ol,showmg1ts application tothe pavement, o certainportions being broken away-in order o j 5to facilitate the illustration; Fig. 2 isa sec?, tional view taken along the line in Fig. l 1 Fig. 3 is a' 'detailed viewy in .sectiontaken .l along theline y3--3 in Fig.12r; Vand Fig'. 4 s`a section taken along'theline 4-4 inFig. 3,'f 40 showing 'the housing, head `memberi and i ortion te and'extending loverthe upper end tongue only with theremaining portions omitted to facilitate the illustration.

:Similar characters `of reference refer 'to f opposite sider wall/lc, as indicated clearly in n The marginal portions 471, of the9"" similar parts and` portions,` throughout i vthe several views of the drawing.

o Thel smoothing plates 1, connecting straps 2, handler 3, housing 4, spring 5, and tongue 6 form the principal parts and portions of my f n ,A

` i Y v#provided forsecuring the -base'portions 4d and if tothe plates 1. y Y o 1 vnovel tool.

et-Ween Y n onstruction, andwhich .20 willnot v readilydeteriorate or 'get `*out of bent rinnirv formi fromv I vlsl'ieet metalplates of.' suliicient'thickness to 'insure adeguatefrigidity,the corner portions `lc beingfbent around a radius so as toform Y afcurved surface 'for rounding they edge of the pav`ement.f" The plates are positioned.55 ywith their ,'sh'orter 'armslb in parallel spaced relation `andtheir vlonger yarms la in substan-` `:tial lalinement L but oppositely directed, f asv lclearly shown in' Figs. l land 2. ThespaC-ing of thefplates lV 's so A'dimensioned that the of portions 1b ,willy readily pass over the ex 'pansion Y 'strip SV placed ybetween adjacent :pavement sections P1 and P2.

' 'lhe pltes' are held rigidly-in thedesired position Iby means of the straps2, which are 65,

secured to` the'portions la of the plates, as by` f riveting' 0r welding, or yin any yother. suitable manner. n They straps 2 'are preferably posiltioned over theend marginal portionsy of the platesv Landcare preferably provided withan arched p'ortion2a' bridging the gap be'-k i tween' the portions 1b. o `A handle' of substantially Uy-shaped form f is secured atits ends to said 4bridge yportion `2a ofthe connecting straps 2, andis thus l positionedldi're'ctly over the gap between the,` fplatesly" f At 'a position 'Substanaauy 4in um center Y ofthe plates l is placed a box-shaped housing member `4. This khousing member 4v consists essentiallyof two' portions, the portion 4a comprising an upper end wall .tb'and three side walls 40. vOne of said sidewalls has va right f angularly extending base portion 34d. The open` side' ofthe housing y,is covered by,l ,S5 ineansof the cover lportion 4e, Which'has a c right angularly'extending 't base portion 4f -complementary tothe portion dof the housing@ At the upper end' of the cover 4e is -a strap Aportiontg bent at right 'angles to the of the strapilgjisrbent *downwardly` over the housing,as shown inFig. 4. Screws 7 are fb ofthe housing. The .extreme end portion" 'if Y Y thereof without binding. The lower end :of

as clearly shown in F ig. 2.`

A substantially rectangular sub-base plate 8 extends under the housing and is separated from the base portions 4d and 4f thereof and the plate portions la by means of felt strips 9. The plate 8 is provided with a rectangular slot 8a of a length substantially equalto the gap between the plates portions 1b, and eX- tending transversely of said plate portions lb, in alinement with said gap. l

Within the housing 4, is a substantially helical spring 5, which bears against the upper end wall lb of the housing and against a head member' 6a ofa tongue 6. The tongue 6 is in the form of astiff rectangular fstrip, preferably of met-al, and is adapted to project through the ,slot 8a in the plate 8"and into the gap between the plate portions 1b,

The head member 6a of the tongue 6 is of a shape conforming to the plan of thehousing Li, and is adapted to slide between the walls 4b the tongue 6 is cut square soV as to rest evenly on theupper surface of the expansion strips S, as indicated in Fig. 2.

' The spring 5is adapted to force the tongue 6 against the upper surface of the strips S,

as the tool is movedalong the portions 1b of the plate l bearing against the upper side margins of the strips S during this operation. The tongue 6 naturallyvfollows any irregularity of theupper surface of thestrips Sv, so that any concrete lying over the upper surface lof the strips will be scraped along by means of the tongue as the Atool is moved.

A small quantity of grease is placed inside the housing in order to keep the tongue'lubricatedfand prevent ingress of water or cement while the` tool is in use. As occasion demands said grease may be introduced by lremoving the cover portionle of thehousing,

j which maybe readily done by removing the 5ofthe expansion strip, with the portions 1b screw 7 by means ofwhich it isheld Vin place.

The application of my tool is as follows: After the final layer of concrete hasbeen poured on adjacent pavement .sections separated by the expansion stripe'S, the upper low the upper bearing against the sides thereof, and the end of the tongue 6 bearing against the upper surfacerof the strip. I .then move thetool lengthwise with the strip over the concrete surface, whereby the horizontal portions la smoothv out the upper surface ofthe concrete, bringing the opposite marginal Iportions of adjacent sections accurately in aline-V ment and round the edges in approved manner. Any concrete lying on the upper surface of the expansion strips S or findingv its way betweenV the plates during `the manipulation of the tool will be'effectively cleared by means of the tongue 6,which, as previously stated, .is adaptedto follow any irregularity of the upper surface of the expansion strips.

Since pavement sections finished by means rof my tool are separated by a uniform gap directly yover the expansion strip, the latter is able to function properly, thereby preventiligthe-cracking'or breaking off of the pavement at the joint'of adjacent sections which Pmay happen when concrete is allowed to bridge the gap.` Likewise the accurate alinement of the marginal portions of adjacent sections ensuresl an `even passage of vehicle ,wheels over the gap between sections, elimihating shock and hammer blows which eventually result 1n damage to the pavement e es.

hough I have shown and described a particularconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions, I do not wislrto be limited to this particular construction, combination and arrangement, but desire to include inthe scope of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially asset forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what 'stript between said pavement sections.

2. Ina pavement smoothing tool, a pair of plates having smoothing portions occupying ja common plane and curved marginal portions positioned in spaced apart parallel relation for "rounding the contiguous corners ofadjacent pavement sections, and a. vertically reciprocable tongue supported over said plates and projecting between said curved portions adaptedto bear against the upper surface ofthe expansionl strip between said pavementY sections and `follow the irregularitiesthereof on movement of said tool.

3. In a pavement smoothing tool for clearing a gap formed byan expansion strip disposed between adjacent freshly poured pavement sections, a pair of spaced apart guide plates adaptedV to bear against contiguous edges of saidpavement sections, and scraper means'extending between said guide plates and into'said `gap for removing undesirable matter from said expansion strip in said gap on movement of said 'tool along said gap.

' 4. gIn "a pavement Ismoothing tool for clearingfagapbetween adjacent freshly poured pavement sections, a Vpairof spaced apart guide platesof arcuate cross section adapted to bearagainstand rounded contiguous edges I'claimas new and desire to secure-by Letters Y Patent is oi said*pavement,y a f saidy plates,

" housing into said gap` between said plates,

and spring means 1n said housing forr resiliently supporting said tongue in'l extended position.

5. In a pavementsmoothing tool for clearn ing a gap yformed by an expansion joint strip disposed between adjacent freshly pouredk pavement sections, a pair of spaced apart guide plates 'of arcuate crosssection adapted to bear against the. rounded contiguous edges of said pavement, a rhousingsupported on c said plates and atongue member reciprocaly mounted in said housing and one end exten ing from said housinginto said gap'k between A said plates and engaginghthe edgevof 'said expansionstrip. v ,y

1980. y n amminiy M.- CRUZ.

housing supported on y f a tongue extending fromsaid j 

